A newsletter of the Engineering Heritage
Group of
Engineering New Zealand Te Ao Rangahau
September 2025
Our home page: Engineering Heritage
New Heritage Record Listing –
We have a new
heritage record listing for Calliope Dock in Devonport, Auckland. Read about it
here
– and the other productions of its engineer, William Errington.
Opening of the
Calliope Dock, 16 Feb 1888. Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections. Reference:
SGGSC 4-2940
September 20 – October 5 Auckland
Heritage Festival.
Downtown Engineering Heritage Walks
This is a
production of our Auckland Chapter.
Two walks to
choose between: Engineering
New Zealand Heritage Walks - OurAuckland
New Book: The Middle of Nowhere, Stories of working on the Manapouri
hydro project. Rosemary Baird. Canterbury University Press.
As the title says more on the people than the engineering,
but still one of our epic projects. Controversial too. Heritage New Zealand has
an introduction to the book from its magazine here.
Wellington Heritage Festival 18
October – 9 November
The pics are
linked – and there are more events besides here
Recent Book Take Me With You 3!: Engineering Heritage of
Coastal and Central Otago, Karen Wrigglesworth
“A self-drive
guide to the engineering heritage of Coastal and Central Otago, encompassing
Oamaru, Balclutha and Queenstown. Includes stories about the dams on the
Waitaki and Clutha rivers, the modern-day Macraes Gold Mine, Nugget Point
Lighthouse, Oamaru’s incredible water race, flour mills, bridges and historic
gold sites of various kinds.
Written in an
engaging, storytelling voice with ‘engineer’s eye’ photos by the author, these
books really do encourage you to take them with you and explore engineering
stories hidden in plain sight in the landscape.”
More here
Christchurch Heritage Festival
11 October to
27 October 2025 see here
Some events:
'I've found a steam train':
Historical
locomotive discovered buried at Whanganui's South Mole - NZ Herald
Engineering and Productivity
Look to the
past for the present and future - Heritage chair Garry Law looks at the role
of capital expenditure in productivity growth, with historical examples, from
our heritage records. See the article in the latest EG p51, here: EG
32 September 2025 by Engineering New Zealand
Looking at our Record / Register
Sites
Sites of the Month
Iron and
engineering are closely bound. So too in our heritage listings. Three sites recognised
are fundamentally about iron. The story of the potential use of iron sand is a
long one. eventually meeting with success. The story is covered in the sites.
The New Zealand Steel Glenbrook Plant is
the modern story of the innovation that went into the use of iron sand and its
successful operation today. The other two historical sites no longer operate
but are part of the longer story.
Otago
Iron Rolling Mills in Green Island south of Dunedin operated
until 1953. It operated on imported billet steel, reformed scrap and for a
period ran its own Bessemer converter making its own steel.
Onekakā
Ironworks in Golden Bay operated from 1914 to 1935
producing iron from local limonite. It had its origins in earlier attempts to
use iron sands. ”… a tramway connected
the wharf with the works. As well as limonite, limestone and coal were needed
to produce iron ore. Coal was shipped from the West Coast, then from 1930, from
nearby Collingwood. The limestone and the limonite were mined in the hills
behind the works and transported in buckets via aerial ropeway. Up to 150 men
were employed in round-the-clock shifts.” The plant later came into Government ownership
and was used for experimental smelting of iron sand.
From the Board
Welcome to our
new board representatives. Tom Barker joins us as the Department of Conservation representative. Our
new Otago Chapter chair Robert Crosbie has also joined the board.
The board
endorsed for progressing heritage as a field of practice, to progress under the Registration Authority new field
establishment guidance. This will enable greater professional recognition of
engineers who practice in the area of structural refurbishment of heritage
buildings and structures.
Finding our Register and Record
sites
Our website now has a Google
Map facility, one for each island. The maps are zoomable to get to exact
locations and with links to the webpage for each site. The links to the maps are
on the webpage here
Web Resource of the Month
Try this one – ARA
Heritage Buses – A Facebook Group ARA Heritage Buses
Heritage Technology Museum of the
Month
Listing: Heritage
New Zealand Hayes Engineering Works Oturehua
or: Visitor Page
Follow engineering heritage news on
Facebook Aotearoa New Zealand
Engineering Heritage
What we do
Our vision is to ensure New Zealand’s engineering
achievements are widely recognised and valued. We want everyone to know about
the major contributions engineering has made to building New Zealand’s society
and economy.
The heritage website is a repository of information
for exploring, researching, and enjoying New Zealand's engineering heritage.
Our objectives are to:
- Interpret and
enhance understanding of our engineering heritage.
- Promote the
protection, preservation and conservation of our engineering heritage.
- Identify and record
our engineering heritage resources.
- Inform the public of
the critical role engineering plays in modern society.
- Support our members
in their professional practice with heritage
Shape the future of the heritage
sector in New Zealand.
Join our heritage groups. Email: heritage@engineeringnz.org
We associate with:
Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga
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